Pneumatic toy vehicle propulsion system



J. L. BRENEMAN ET AL 3,469,340

PNEUMATIC TOY VEHICLE PROPULSION SYSTEM Sept. 30, 1969 3 Sheets-Shem 1Filed July 12.

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PNEUMATIC TOY VEHICLE PROPULSION SYSTEM Filed July 12, 196'? 3Sheets-Sheet S i INVENTORS JA cKLfiMMEM/W BY MILAN GRUEER 04m mans(hear/152s 4 75-151? A rranuz v.5

Sept. 30, 1969 J L, BRENEMAN ET AL 3,469,340

PNEUMATIC TOY VEHICLE PROPULSION SYSTEM Filed July 12) 196'? 3SheetsSheet 3 A /5-'?r-* K JAM I K 37 z M Q LZ a 27 Zl l;

THEM A Tram/E Y5 United States Patent 3,469,340 PNEUMATIC TOY VEHICLEPROPULSION SYSTEM Jack L. Breneman, 9400 Eabcock Blvd. at Kummer Road,Allison Park, Pa. 15101, and Milan Gruber, 3012 Green Garden Road,Aliquippa, Pa. 15001 Filed July 12, 1967, Ser. No. 652,775

Int. Cl. A6311 29/16 US. C]. 46-44 24 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSUREBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally topneumatic toys and more particularly to a pneumatic toy vehiclepropulsion system wherein a toy vehicle is moved through a tube by meansof a pneumatic pump.

Powered toy vehicles which are moved on tracks or the like have becomeincreasingly popular over the years; however, the toy industry hasfailed to produce or conceive a novel and economical, pneumatic toyvehicle propulsion system wherein a toy vehicle is moved through atransparent conveyor tube. The artof pneumatically conveying an articlethrough a tube is well known as wit-- nessed in the art of pneumaticdispatch systems as used in department stores for changing money from acentrally located station. However, the principles and teachings of thisart are neither applicable nor practical or economical in the toy art.Such dispatch systems are not only toosophisticated for the toy art, butthey also provide little insight as to how a simple and economical,pneumatic toy might be constructed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides an economical,pneumatic toy vehicle propulsion system wherein atoy vehicle is carriedin a tube which is either open at both ends or is continuous and apneumatic pump is connected to the interior of the tube to move the toyvehicle. A one-way valve means closes the tube but permits the passageof the vehicle and is spaced in cooperative arrangement with thepump'connection or connections to the tube to permit and providemovement of the vehicle past the pump connections and throughout theentire tube.

The one-way valve means may consist of one or more simple one-way valvessuch as clack valves which close oil. the tube and operate to permitpassage of the vehicle and fluid flow in a given direction. The valvemeans acts'to direct the fluid flow in the desired direction.

The pneumatic pump may be a motorized blower or a simple positivedisplacement pump such as an accordion or bellows type pump or areciprocating piston pump. The latter type pumps may be hand operated ormotorized and of the single acting or double acting type as desired.

The one-way valve or valves may be arranged in several dilferent ways inrelation to the pump connections made to the tube and the air exhaustand intake ports provided in the tube when it is used as a continuousclosed loop.

This arrangement depends upon the type-of pump employed, i.'e.,continuous fio-w type as a blower or interrupted flow type as a bellowspump, the number of one- 3,469,340 Patented Sept. 30, 1969 way valvesemployed in the valve means and whether the vehicle conveyor tube is tobe used with both ends open or as a continuous closed loop circuit.

The system is preferably arranged such that the vehicle conveyor tubemay be used either with both ends open or as a continuous closed loop asthe operator may desire. In this arrangement, the pump connections tothe tube, the air exhaust and intake ports to the outside atmosphere inthe tube, and the one-way valve or valves are positioned with respect toeach other such that the vehicle is moved in a selected directionthrough the entire tube by both thepneumatic pressure output and thesuction intake of th pump when the tube is connected to form acontinuous loop. When the tube is left open at both ends, the vehiclewill be drawn from one end of the tube by the suction intake of the pumpto the pump connections made to the tube and forced out the other end ofthe tube by the pressure output of the pump. In this latter situation,both the pump output and intake cannot operate to move the vehicle inthe same given area of tube length, as is possible when the tube forms aclosed loop.

The ability to operate the system when the tube is broken, permits theoperator to insert open jumps and loops or similar obstacles between theopen ends of the tube through which the vehicle must maneuver for addedenjoyment of the operator. The vehicle will also travel at any attitudethe conveyor tube is given including vertically upward which permitsmany unusual track or tube layouts. The tube may be flexible to providecurves or it may be comprisesd of rigid tube lengths, elbows, sleeveconnectors, Y-shaped switches and the like.

Other objects and advantages appear hereinafter in the followingdescription and claims.

'The accompanying drawings show for the purpose of exemplification,without limiting the invention thereto, certain practical embodiments ofthe present invention wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a pneumatic pumping station illustratingan embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a simplified expanded view of the pneumatic propulsion systemshown in FIG. 1 with parts removed.

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic sketch of the toy vehicle propulsion systemshown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic sketch illustrating the employment of a doubleacting reciprocatory pump in the system shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic sketch illustrating another embodiment of thepresent invention.

' FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic sketch illustrating another embodiment of thepresent invention wherein a motorized blower is employed.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings, the pumping station 1consists of housing 2, preferably moulded of a plastic, upon which ismounted a bellows pump 3 which also may be moulded of a flexibleplastic. The bellows pump 3 is provide'dwith an integrally mouldedhandle 4 by which an operator may work the bellows.

, As shown best in FIG. 2, the open annularend 5 of the bellows pump 3is seated in air tight engagement with a matingcollar 6 provided on theannular pump closure 7. The annular end 5 of the bellows is preferablybonded to the collar 6 by a strong glue such as an epoxy resin baseglue. The closure 7 is received in the annular recess 8 of thehousing 1. The recess 8 contains inlet check valve 10 and outlet checkvalve 11 which are simple clack valves hinged from the top on each side.The check valves 10 and 11 direct the air flow to and from the commonchamber 12 therebetween which is open to the interior of the bellows 3through the opening 13 in the bottom of the closure 7.

The side walls and bottom walls of the chamber -12, with the exceptionof the check valves 10 and 11, are

integrally moulded with the housing 1. In a similar manner, an outletchamber 14 and an inlet chamber 15 are provided on the outer sides ofthe check valves 11 and 10, respectively. When the closure 7 is seatedin the recess 8, the bottom of the closure rests on the top of the sidewalls of chambers 12, 14 and 15 to effectively seal ofl? one chamberfrom the other.

The closure 7 is maintained in place by means of the machine screws 16which pass through the openings 17 in the closure and are threadablyreceived by the studs 18. The opening 13 in the closure is shaped andpositioned such that it only exposes the common chamber 12.

The chambers 14 and 15 are provided with ports 20 and 21, respectively,which lead directly to the interior of the vehicle conveyor tube 22. Thetube 22 consists of the transparent tube 23 and the tube sectionprovided at the pumping station 1 by the moulded tube sections or halves24 and 25. The tube half 25 provides a mount for the one-way valvemeans, consisting of the spaced oneway valves 26 and 27, and the exhaustvalve 28 and intake valve 30.

The one-way valves 26 and 27 are identical and are hinged at the bottomand maintained in an upright closed position by means of thecounterweights 31. Both one-way valves open in the same direction asindicated by the arrows.

Adjacent valves 26 and 27 are clearance recesses 32 and 33,respectively, which permit the valves to open sufiiciently wide to passthe toy vehicle 34. The intake valve 30 is a clack valve which lies onthe bottom of recess 32 and is hinged as indicated at 35. When the openends 36 and 37 of the transparent tube sections 23 are mated and joined,the valve 30 operates to supply air to the system on demand of the pump.

The exhaust valve 28 is hinged to the bottom of the recess 33 asindicated at 38 and is counterweighted by the weight 40 to maintain theexhaust port 40 normally closed. When tube ends 36 and 37 are joined toform a closed loop, valve 28 exhausts air from the system on the demandof the pump.

The tube half 25 is mated and secured to the tube half 24, which is amoulded integral part of the housing 2, to form the conveyor tube 22along with the transparent tube 23. When the halves 24 and 25 aresecured together, the one-way valves 26 and 27 close the tube 22.

The toy vehicle 34 may take on most any shape, such as a racing car asshown or a rocket or the like, so long as it substantially closes thetube 22 for at least a portion of the length of the vehicle. However,the vehicle must fit the interior of the tube with sufficient clearanceto maneuver corners and the like as'it slides through the tube.

The open end 37 of tube 22 is provided with a funnel 39 to illustratehow the system may be employed with the tube ends open. The vehicle ispropelled out of end 36, shot through the air, and received in thefunnel 39 where it reenters tube 23. Other obstacles may be provided,such as an open loop shaped track which requires the vehicle to make avertical loop before reentering the tube. These maneuvers require skillon the part of the operator by requiring him to provide the proper pumppressure necessary to jump the vehicle the desired distance or to makean upside down loop.

The operation of the system shown in FIG. 2 can be more readilyunderstood by referring to the diagrammatic sketch of FIG. 3 whereinsimilar parts are numbered the same as those found in FIGS. 1 and 2. Theuniform dashed line in FIG. 3 indicates the fluid flow when the handle 4is pulled upward and the alternate short and long dashed line indicatesthe fluid flow when the handle 4 is pressed downward to contract thepump chamber 41. The one-way valves 26 and 27 close off the tube 22 suchthat they form a tube chamber therebetween with the interior of thetube. Valve 27 functions as an 4 inlet valve to the chamber 42 and valve26 as an outlet valve.

Intake valve 30 and exhaust valve 28 do not operate when the tube ends36 and 37 are not joined as their tube ends function as an exhaust andintake themselves, respectively. Thus, when the tube ends 36 and 37 areleft unconnected, it can be readily seen that when the vehicle 34 is intube 22 and positioned to the left of oneway valve 26, the vehicle willbe moved to the left only when the pump handle is pushed downward.Similarly, when the vehicle is positioned to the right of one-way valve27, the vehicle is moved to the left only when the pump handle 4 isdrawn upward. However, when the tube 22 is made a continuous closedloop, the vehicle will be moved to the left by either an up or a downstroke of handle 4 throughout the entire tube.

The one-Way valves 26 and 27 in cooperation with the pump inlet andoutlet connection 43 and 44, respectively, serve to direct the fluidflow in the same direction throughout the tube 22 no matter Whether thepump is on its pressure stroke or suction stroke and to move the vehiclethrough tube chamber 42 past the pump connections. The connections 43and 44 and valves 26 and 27 may be spaced cooperatively with each otherand one another to effectively move the vehicle through the chamber 42.As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the connections 43 and 44 are spaced as wideas or wider than the width W of the portion of the vehicle 34 whichsubstantially closes tube 22. In this manner, the vehicle may be drawnpast outlet connection 44 by an upward stroke of handle 4 so that thevehicle will be forced out of chamber 42 through valve 26 on thesucceeding pressure stroke. If the vehicle is given sufficient momentumon the suction stroke, it will continue on past inlet connection 43 orport 21 and on out of chamber 42 past outlet valve 26 without need of asucceeding pressure stroke.

Referring again to FIG. 1, tube 22 is provided with a short hingedcanopy 45 on the housing 2. Canopy 45 is hinged to housing 2 asindicated at 46 and permits access to the interior of tube 22 for theinsertion of vehicle 34 or a similar vehicle. An extending lip 47 on thecanopy permits the same to be clamped in its closed position by the lug48 which may be rotated to engage the upper surface of lip 47.

In order to stop the vehicle 34 under the canopy 45 for removal, button50 is pressed to raise the abutment 51 into the interior of tube 22 toprevent the vehicle from continuing on through the tube. Abutment 51 ismerely the end or tip of a lever arm which is pivoted to the housing 2and has its opposite end secured to button 50. The canopy 45 and itsassociated elements have been omitted from the other figures for thesake of simplicity.

FIG. 4 illustrates the application of a double acting pump to the systemand is very similar to the system as shown in FIG. 3. Pump 3' utilizesboth sides of its piston and therefore duplicates pump 3 of FIG. 3.Chambers 14' and 15 are connected with the interior of tube 22 asindicated at 44 and 43', respectively. This eliminates the need ofintake valve 30 and exhaust valve 28 as shown in FIG. 3, when the systemor tube forms a closed loop. However, chambers 14 and 15' may beconnected directly to chambers 14 and 15 or connections 44 and 43,respectively, instead of making connectrons 44 and 43. In this lattermentioned hookup, the valves 30 and 28 would have to remain as shown 1nFIG. 3 when the system is used with tube 22 forming a closed loop.

FIG. 5 represents still another possible manner in which the pump hookupmay be made. However, the hookup or configuration of FIG. 5 requires thetube 22 be maintained as a closed loop at all times to ensure thepassage of the vehicle through chamber 42.

In FIG. 5 the exhaust and intake valves, valves 28' and 30', arepositioned in chamber 42 and the pump connections, 44 and 43', are madeoutside the tube chamber 42. It may be readily observed by comparisonthat the hookup shown in FIG. 5 operates very similarly to that shown inFIG. 3. It should also be noted that the connections shown in FIGS. 3, 4and 5 may be combined in several dilferent ways. For example, chamber orpassage 15 may be connected to tube 22 at both connections 43 and 43' atthe same time. So also, passage or chamber 14 may be connected to tube22 at both connections 44 and 44 at the same time. This is seen bycomparing FIGS. 3 and 5.

The diagrammatic sketch of FIG. 6 illustrates a pneumatic hookup for thesystem of the present invention wherein the valve means includes onlyone one-way valve '52. The toy vehicle is propelled past valve 52 by itsacquired momentum. A hand operated pump may be employed in thisconfiguration, however, if the toy vehicle has not obtained suflicientmomentum to continue past valve 52, difliculty may be experienced inthereafter pumping the vehicle past the pump connections 54 and 55. Toalleviate this problem, the toy vehicle traveling through tube 22 may begiven the configuration indicated by the dashed line 56. The pistonheads '57 and 58 cooperate with the pump connections 54 and 55 to permitthe vehicle 56 to be both pushed and drawn past the pump connections atthe same time when vehicle 56 is positioned as shown.

When the pump is motorized, as indicated by. the motorized fan pump 53,no such problems arise since the toy vehicle is given a substantiallyconstant and continuous momentum.

.If the tube 22 as depicted in FIG. 6 is used as a continuous closedloop, the pump inlet connections 55 may be removed such that passage 61is immediately open to the atmosphere and replaced with an exhaust valvesuch as valve 28 in FIG. 3 or connection 54 may be removed such thatpassage 60 is immediately open to the atmosphere and replaced with anintake valve such as valve 30 in FIG. 3. This simplifies the fan housingstructure in which the fan is mounted. For example, the structure ofFIG. 2 would be modified by elimination of the bellows 3, closure 7,'and clack valves 10 and 11 and port 20v would be closed. A smallelectric fan, powered by batteries or a conventional AC power sourcefound in the home, would be mounted to studs 18 such that the fan pullsair from tube 22 through port 21 and pushes it vertically upward intothe surrounding atmosphere. A perforated guard or cage may cover therecess 8 and fan blade. Exhaust valve 28 and one-way valve 27 would alsobe removed and'exhiaust port 40 would be closed and, thus, although theexpense of a small motorizedfan is added, the moving parts andsimplicity of the housing 2 and bottom tube half or section 25 isenhanced. The motorized pump is preferably provided with means to varythe fan output.

The conveyor tube 22 is preferably transparent to permit enjoyableviewing of the vehicle movement. The tube may be slightly flexibleplastic which will bend to form corners without deforming too greatly orthe tube may also consist of rigid transparent plastic tube sectionswhich are joined by sleeves or collars which may be stnaight 0r bent toform elbows.

It has been discovered that the vehicle tube 22 may be given any desiredattitude. The vehicle is more than adequately propelled even upward whenthe tube is vertical. Thus, many unusual tube layout configurations maybe employed and changed for continued enjoyment.

Switches of simple configuration may be employed in the system. Forexample, substantially Y-shaped tube sections may be provided with anoval shaped clack valve hinged within the Y-shaped tube at theintersection of its top or upper stems, or in other words at the insideapex of the V portion of the Y-shaped tube, such that the oval shapedvalve may be swung or hinged to close off one or the other of the twotop or upper tubes forming the V- shaped portion of the Y. A rod shapedhinge is employed on the valve and extends externally of the Y-shapedtube for manual operation of the switch.

We claim:

1. A pneumatic toy vehicle propulsion system comprising a tube ofsubstantially uniform cross-section, a vehicle carried in said tube andsubstantially closing the same, one-way valve means closing said tubeand operable to permit fluid flow and the passage of said vehicle in onedirection, pneumatic pump means connected to the interior of said tubein cooperative arrangement with said one-way valve means to move saidvehicle throughout said tube in said one direction.

2. The pneumatic toy vehicle propulsion system of claim 1 characterizedby a spaced pair of one-way valves opnable in the same directionproviding said one-way valve means and forming the end walls of achamber in said tube, said one-way valves providing respectively aninlet and an outlet to said tube chamber.

3. The pneumatic toy vehicle propulsion system of claim 2 wherein saidpump means includes a pneumatic pump having an expansible andcontractible chamber therein with a one-Way inlet passage connected withsaid tube chamber and a one-way outlet passage connected with said tubechamber intermediate said inlet passage connection and said inletone-way valve.

4. The pneumatic toy vehicle propulsion system of claim 3 characterizedin that said vehicle substantially closes said tube for a given lengthof said vehicle and the spacing between the connections of said pumpinlet and outlet passages with said tube chamber is greater than saidgiven length.

5. The pneumatic toy vehicle propulsion system of claim 4 characterizedin that said pump inlet connection and said pump outlet connection areadjacent said outlet one-way valve and said inlet one-way valverespectively.

6. The pneumatic toy vehicle propulsion system of claim 3 characterizedin that the spacing between the connection of said pump inlet passagewith said inlet one-way valve is greater than overall length of saidvehicle.

7. The pneumatic toy vehicle propulsion system of claim 6 characterizedin that said vehicle substantially closes said tube for a given lengthof said vehicle and said pump outlet connection is spaced from said pumpinlet connection at a distance greater than said given length.

8. The pneumatic toy vehicle propulsion system of claim 3 characterizedin that said tube has two open ends.

9. The pneumatic toy vehicle propulsion system of claim 3 wherein saidpneumatic pump means includes a one-way intake vent in said tubeadjacent said outlet one-way valve and outside said tube chamber and aoneway' exhaust vent in said tube adjacent said inlet oneway valve andoutside said tube chamber operable to flow air into said tube and out ofsaid tube respectively on demand of said pneumatic pump, said tubeforming a continuous closed loop.

10. The pneumatic toy vehicle propulsion system of claim 3 wherein saidpneumatic pump is a bellows pump.

11. The pneumatic toy vehicle propulsion system of claim 2 characterizedin that said pneumatic pump means includes a double acting reciprocatingpump having a pair of opposed expansible and contractible chamberstherein.

12. The pneumatic toy vehicle propulsion system of claim 11characterized in that each of said opposed pump chambers has a one-wayinlet passage and a one-way outlet passage, said inlet and outletpassages of one of said pump chambers being connected with said tubechamber such that the pump outlet passage is spaced intermediate saidinlet one-way valve and the pump inlet passage and said inlet and outletpassages of said other pump chamber being connected with the interior ofsaid tube outside of said tube chamber such that the pump outlet passageis adjacent said outlet one-way valve and the pump inlet passage isadjacent said inlet one-way valve.

13. The pneumatic toy vehicle of claim 2 wherein said pneumatic pumpmeans includes a pneumatic pump having an expansible and contractiblechamber therein with a one-Way outlet passage connected with theinterior of said tube outside of said tube chamber and adjacent saidoutlet one-way valve and a one-way inlet passage connected with theinterior of said tube outside of said tube chamber and adjacent saidinlet one-Way valve, a oneway exhaust vent in said tube and exposed tosaid tube chamber, and a one-way intake vent in said tube and spacedintermediate said exhaust vent and said inlet oneway valve, said tubeforming a continuous closed loop.

14. The pneumatic toy vehicle propulsion system of claim 1 characterizedby a one-way valve providing said one-way valve means, said pump meansincluding a pneumatic pump connected to the interior of said tubeadjacent said one-way valve.

15. The pneumatic toy vehicle propulsion system of claim 1 characterizedin that said pump means has a pump outlet and a pump inlet connected tothe interior of said tube adjacent the outlet and inlet facerespectively of said one-way valve means.

16. The pneumatic toy vehicle propulsion system of claim 14characterized by an air exhaust vent in said tube adjacent the inletface of said one-way valve, said pump having a pump outlet connected tothe interior of said tube adjacent the outlet face of said one-wayvalve, said tube forming a continuous closed loop.

17. The pneumatic toy vehicle propulsion system of claim 14characterized by an air intake vent in said tube adjacent the outletface of said one-way valve, said pump having a pump inlet connected tothe interior of said tube adjacent the inlet face of said one-way valve,said tube forming a continuous closed loop.

18. The pneumatic toy vehicle propulsion system of claim 14characterized by an electric motor coupled to said pneumatic pump todrive the same.

19. The pneumatic toy vehicle propulsion system of claim 18characterized by variable power means connected to said motor to varythe volume rate of fluid flow through said tube.

20. The pneumatic toy vehicle propulsion system of claim 3 characterizedby a second one-way pump outlet passage connected with the interior ofsaid tube adjacent said outlet one-way valve and outside of said tubechamber.

21. The pneumatic toy vehicle propulsion system of claim 3 characterizedby a second one-way pump inlet passage connected with the interior ofsaid tube adjacent said inlet one-way valve and outside of said tubechamber.

22. The pneumatic toy vehicle propulsion system of claim 21characterized by a second one-way pump outlet passage connected with theinterior of said tube adjacent said outlet one-way valve and outside ofsaid tube chamber.

23. A pneumatic toy vehicle propulsion system consisting of a pneumaticpump having an expansible and contractible chamber therein, asubstantially uniform tube open at both ends, a vehicle carried in saidtube and substantially closing the same, a spaced pair of normallyclosed one-way valves each closing said tube and providing a chambertherebetween in said tube intermediate its ends, said one-way valvesproviding respectively an inlet and an outlet to said tube chamber andbeing operable to permit fluid flow and the passage of said vehicle inone and the same direction, an intake passage connecting said pumpchamber with said tube chamber, a check valve closing said intakepassage and operable to permit fluid flow into said pump chamber, andoutlet passage connecting said pump chamber with said tube chamberintermediate said intake passage and said inlet one-way valve, a checkvalve closing said outlet passage and operable to permit fluid flow outof said pump chamber, said inlet one-way valve and said outlet one-wayvalve and the connection of said intake passage to said tube chamber andthe connection of said outlet passage to said tube chamber beingcooperatively spaced with respect to each other and the dimensions ofsaid vehicle to provide effective passage thereof through said tubechamber.

24. The pneumatic toy vehicle propulsion system of claim 20characterized by an intake vent in said tube adjacent said outletone-way valve and outside of said tube chamber, a check valve closingsaid vent and operable to flow fluid into said tube, an exhaust vent insaid tube adjacent said inlet one-way valve and outside of said tubechamber, a check valve closing said exhaust vent and operable to flowfluid out of said tube, said tube forming a continuous closed loop.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,813,625 7/1931 Knox 1042,604,055 7/1952 Snowden 27386.4 3,080,859 3/1963 Benkoe 124-113,106,394 10/1963 Gelbart 46-44X 3,224,771 12/1965 Altieri 273-8643,367,658 2/1968 Bayha 46-44x 3,377,741 4/1968 Ryan 46202 F. BARRY SHAY,Primary Examiner H. DINITZ, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 104155

